Mother of 11 linked to serial killings

Saturday

Jun 30, 2007 at 12:01 AMJun 30, 2007 at 3:55 PM

MARLBOROUGH - Marilyn Olivera of Marlborough last saw her sister in late January, after Lineida Olivera, 34, gave birth to twins. Marilyn Olivera said she visited her sister and the babies in the hospital and at their home in Worcester.

Amanda Smith/Daily News correspondent

Marilyn Olivera of Marlborough last saw her sister in late January, after Lineida Olivera, 34, gave birth to twins. Marilyn Olivera said she visited her sister and the babies in the hospital and at their home in Worcester.

Now, Marilyn Olivera says Worcester Police have linked her sister's disappearance to three unsolved murders that former Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley has termed serial killings.

Usually her sister called once or twice a week, said Marilyn Olivera, but she hasn't heard from her since that visit five months ago.

Since then, Lineida Olivera's family members have posted flyers around Worcester, Framingham and surrounding communities.

The family set up a MySpace page in the Web site's missing persons group, and they e-mailed notices and photos to everyone they know, Marilyn Olivera said.

At 5 feet 3 inches, 125 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, Lineida Olivera fits a similar description to three women whose remains were found in Marlborough and Hudson in 2003 and 2004. She has a scar near the left eye and a tattoo on right hand that says "Ken."

Marilyn Olivera said Worcester Police have connected her sister's disappearance with the three unsolved killings since the family reported her missing on May 4.

The remains of Carmen Rudy and Betzaida Montalvo were found in Marlborough in 2003. Dinelia Torres's body was found in Hudson in 2004. All three women were mothers with longtime drug addictions who sometimes worked as prostitutes to support their habits, according to investigators. The women often worked in the Main South area of Worcester.

Investigators at the time of those discoveries said the deaths may have been the work of a serial killer.

Police in Worcester, Marlborough and Hudson, along with the district attorneys' offices of Worcester and Middlesex counties continue to investigate the three homicides.

In addition to her physical similarity to Rudy, Montalvo and Torres, Lineida Olivera was a mother with a persistent drug habit. Court records show a history of prostitution, and police said she was frequently seen in the Main South area.

Worcester Police Sgt. Faith Roche, who is in charge of the Lineida Olivera investigation, was unavailable for comment, but Hudson Police Chief Richard A. Braga said Worcester Police had notified his detectives of Lineida Olivera's case "because she is missing and had a high-risk lifestyle" like the three murder victims.

Marilyn Olivera said she didn't want to talk much about her sister's life and habits.

"I think she's a good mom. She's very kind. She had 11 kids, and all of her kids miss her," Marilyn Olivera said.

Lineida came to Massachusetts from Puerto Rico when she was 16 and had given birth to her first child.

Marilyn Olivera, who declined to say where all of her sister's children were living, said her sister had gone away for a few weeks, or even a month in the past, but never for this long, and never without checking in.

"She knows I get worried. Right away she calls me. When she didn't call me, I knew something was wrong," said Marilyn Olivera.

Lineida Olivera told her sister she planned to enter rehabilitation to kick her drug addiction after the twins were born in January. Through February and March, the family thought she might have been in a treatment center where she wouldn't be allowed to call them, Marilyn Olivera said.

They grew more worried as April passed, reporting Lineida Olivera missing in May.

Officially, Lineida Olivera is a missing person, said Marlborough Police Sgt. Stephen McCurley. Because of that, the Worcester County district attorney's office is not involved with the investigation, said Tim Connolly, the DA's spokesman.

Despite the possible link with the unsolved murders, Marilyn Olivera and her family continue to search for Lineida. She said they are "still hoping everything will come right."

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